Isaiah 37:23-24

37:23 Whom have you taunted and hurled insults at?

At whom have you shouted

and looked so arrogantly? ¹ 

At the Holy One of Israel! ² 

37:24 Through your messengers you taunted the sovereign master, ³ 

‘With my many chariots I climbed up

the high mountains,

the slopes of Lebanon.

I cut down its tall cedars

and its best evergreens.

I invaded its most remote regions, ⁴ 

its thickest woods.

Isaiah 36:20

36:20 Who among all the gods of these lands have rescued their lands from my power? So how can the Lord rescue Jerusalem from my power?’” ⁵ 

Isaiah 51:7-8

51:7 Listen to me, you who know what is right,

you people who are aware of my law! ⁶ 

Don’t be afraid of the insults of men;

don’t be discouraged because of their abuse!

51:8 For a moth will eat away at them like clothes;

a clothes moth will devour them like wool.

But the vindication I provide ⁷  will be permanent;

the deliverance I give will last.”

Isaiah 51:1

There is Hope for the Future

51:1 “Listen to me, you who pursue godliness, ⁸ 

who seek the Lord!

Look at the rock from which you were chiseled,

at the quarry ⁹  from which you were dug! ¹⁰ 

Isaiah 17:1

The Lord Will Judge Damascus

17:1 Here is a message about Damascus:

“Look, Damascus is no longer a city,

it is a heap of ruins!

Isaiah 17:1-2

The Lord Will Judge Damascus

17:1 Here is a message about Damascus:

“Look, Damascus is no longer a city,

it is a heap of ruins!

17:2 The cities of Aroer are abandoned. ¹¹ 

They will be used for herds,

which will lie down there in peace. ¹² 

Isaiah 19:4

19:4 I will hand Egypt over to a harsh master;

a powerful king will rule over them,”

says the sovereign master, ¹³  the Lord who commands armies.

Isaiah 19:22-23

19:22 The Lord will strike Egypt, striking and then healing them. They will turn to the Lord and he will listen to their prayers ¹⁴  and heal them.

19:23 At that time there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria. The Assyrians will visit Egypt, and the Egyptians will visit Assyria. The Egyptians and Assyrians will worship together. ¹⁵ 

Isaiah 19:2

19:2 “I will provoke civil strife in Egypt, ¹⁶ 

brothers will fight with each other,

as will neighbors,

cities, and kingdoms. ¹⁷ 

Isaiah 32:15-19

32:15 This desolation will continue until new life is poured out on us from heaven. ¹⁸ 

Then the desert will become an orchard

and the orchard will be considered a forest. ¹⁹ 

32:16 Justice will settle down in the desert

and fairness will live in the orchard. ²⁰ 

32:17 Fairness will produce peace ²¹ 

and result in lasting security. ²² 

32:18 My people will live in peaceful settlements,

in secure homes,

and in safe, quiet places. ²³ 

32:19 Even if the forest is destroyed ²⁴ 

and the city is annihilated, ²⁵ 

[37:23]  ¹ tn Heb “and lifted your eyes on high?” Cf. NIV “lifted your eyes in pride”; NRSV “haughtily lifted your eyes.”

[37:23]  ² sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.

[37:24]  ³ tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

[37:24]  ⁴ tn Heb “the height of its extremity”; ASV “its farthest height.”

[36:20]  ⁵ tn Heb “that the Lord might rescue Jerusalem from my hand?” The logic runs as follows: Since no god has ever been able to withstand the Assyrian onslaught, how can the people of Jerusalem possibly think the Lord will rescue them?

[51:7]  ⁶ tn Heb “people (who have) my law in their heart.”

[51:8]  ⁷ tn Heb “my vindication”; many English versions “my righteousness”; NRSV, TEV “my deliverance”; CEV “my victory.”

[51:1]  ⁸ tn Or “righteousness” (KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NAB “justice”; NLT “hope for deliverance.”

[51:1]  ⁹ tn Heb “the excavation of the hole.”

[51:1]  ¹⁰ sn The “rock” and “quarry” refer here to Abraham and Sarah, the progenitors of the nation.

[17:2]  ¹¹ tn Three cities are known by this name in the OT: (1) an Aroer located near the Arnon, (2) an Aroer in Ammon, and (3) an Aroer of Judah. (See BDB 792-93 s.v. עֲרֹעֵר, and HALOT 883 s.v. II עֲרוֹעֵר.) There is no mention of an Aroer in Syrian territory. For this reason some want to emend the text here to עֲזֻבוֹת עָרַיהָ עֲדֵי עַד (’azuvot ’arayha ’adey ’ad, “her cities are permanently abandoned”). However, Aroer near the Arnon was taken by Israel and later conquered by the Syrians. (See Josh 12:2; 13:9, 16; Judg 11:26; 2 Kgs 10:33). This oracle pertains to Israel as well as Syria (note v. 3), so it is possible that this is a reference to Israelite and/or Syrian losses in Transjordan.

[17:2]  ¹² tn Heb “and they lie down and there is no one scaring [them].”

[19:4]  ¹³ tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

[19:22]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “he will be entreated.” The Niphal has a tolerative sense here, “he will allow himself to be entreated.”

[19:23]  ¹⁵ tn The text could be translated, “and Egypt will serve Assyria” (cf. NAB), but subjugation of one nation to the other does not seem to be a theme in vv. 23-25. Rather the nations are viewed as equals before the Lord (v. 25). Therefore it is better to take אֶת (’et) in v. 23b as a preposition, “together with,” rather than the accusative sign. The names of the two countries are understood to refer by metonymy to their respective inhabitants.

[19:2]  ¹⁶ tn Heb I will provoke Egypt against Egypt” (NAB similar).

[19:2]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and they will fight, a man against his brother, and a man against his neighbor, city against city, kingdom against kingdom.” Civil strife will extend all the way from the domestic level to the provincial arena.

[32:15]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “until a spirit is emptied out on us from on high.” The words “this desolation will continue” are supplied in the translation for clarification and stylistic purposes. The verb עָרָה (’arah), used here in the Niphal, normally means “lay bare, expose.” The term רוּחַ (ruakh, “spirit”) is often understood here as a reference to the divine spirit (cf. 44:3 and NASB, NIV, CEV, NLT), but it appears here without an article (cf. NRSV “a spirit”), pronominal suffix, or a genitive (such as “of the Lord”). The translation assumes that it carries an impersonal nuance “vivacity, vigor” in this context.

[32:15]  ¹⁹ sn The same statement appears in 29:17b, where, in conjunction with the preceding line, it appears to picture a reversal. Here it seems to depict supernatural growth. The desert will blossom into an orchard, and the trees of the orchard will multiply and grow tall, becoming a forest.

[32:16]  ²⁰ sn This new era of divine blessing will also include a moral/ethical transformation, as justice and fairness fill the land and replace the social injustice so prevalent in Isaiah’s time.

[32:17]  ²¹ tn Heb “and the product of fairness will be peace.”

[32:17]  ²² tn Heb “and the work of fairness [will be] calmness and security forever.”

[32:18]  ²³ tn Or “in safe resting places”; NAB, NRSV “quiet resting places.”

[32:19]  ²⁴ tn Heb “and [?] when the forest descends.” The form וּבָרַד (uvarad) is often understood as an otherwise unattested denominative verb meaning “to hail” (HALOT 154 s.v. I ברד). In this case one might translate, “and it hails when the forest is destroyed” (cf. KJV, ASV, NASB, NIV). Perhaps the text alludes to a powerful wind and hail storm that knocks down limbs and trees. Some prefer to emend the form to וְיָרַד (vÿyarad), “and it descends,” which provides better, though not perfect, symmetry with the parallel line (cf. NAB). Perhaps וּבָרַד should be dismissed as dittographic. In this case the statement (“when the forest descends”) lacks a finite verb and seems incomplete, but perhaps it is subordinate to v. 20.

[32:19]  ²⁵ tn Heb “and in humiliation the city is laid low.”